Wedding Timeline 6 Months Out: What to Do, in Order

"The biggest mistake couples make is under-padding transitions," writes Jordan, Founder and Lead Wedding Coordinator at Managing Matrimony.¹ Six months out from your wedding, the day-of timeline is where that mistake gets made or avoided - the window where the schedule gains its first real numbers and every supplier starts waiting on them.

The six-month planning arc, from the final booking window to run sheet distribution.

What should already be locked at 6 months

The average Australian engagement runs to 24 months.² Suppliers book across that window in order of how fast they fill their calendars. Venues are typically booked 11 months before the wedding. Photographers, celebrants, musicians and hair and makeup artists are typically booked at 9 months.³

At 6 months, that booking arc is complete for most categories. If you are arriving at this point with venue, photographer, celebrant, musicians and hair and makeup confirmed, the booking phase is behind you and the coordination phase is starting. If any of those are missing, the gap is narrowing: photographers and celebrants hold single dates, and popular spring and autumn Saturdays fill earliest. Treat any missing booking as the first thing to close before the rest of this checklist is useful.

Average booking lead times for Australian wedding suppliers, from the 2026 industry report. The transport window (6 months) is the only one still open at this point.

Month 6: the last supplier booking and the guest count

Wedding transport is typically booked 6 months before the wedding - the shortest lead time of any supplier category in the 2026 industry report.⁴ If you need a wedding car, this is the month to confirm it.

Beyond transport, month 6 is about locking three things that everything else depends on. The venue access hours - when you get in and when you have to be out - are the start and end of the run sheet. If those are only verbal, get them in writing before you plan anything. The guest count needs to be frozen, because the caterer needs a final headcount around 1 to 2 weeks before the wedding and the seating plan cannot be worth building until the count is stable. And each supplier's direct contact - the mobile number of the person actually working the day, not the general bookings line - belongs in the run sheet from the start so it does not have to be chased at 9pm on the night before.

Month 5: build the first schedule

The first schedule is not the finished run sheet. It is a skeleton - ceremony time, rough reception open, rough last dance - that goes to the photographer and caterer so they can flag anything before you lock the times in. Getting their feedback on the draft is far cheaper than adjusting the run sheet after every supplier has seen the final version.

The PlannedBy run sheet generator takes one input - the ceremony time - and returns a full day. A 3:00 pm ceremony produces: hair and makeup from 11:00 am, getting ready done by 12:30 pm, leaving at 2:15 pm, guests arriving from 2:30 pm, ceremony at 3:00 pm, family photos from 3:30 pm, cocktail hour from 4:00 pm, reception opening at 6:00 pm, and send-off at 11:00 pm. Every one of those times follows from the one you enter. If the ceremony moves by 20 minutes, the full day moves with it.

Key events derived from a 3:00 pm ceremony by the PlannedBy run sheet generator.

Send the skeleton to the photographer first. They will tell you whether the gap between the ceremony end and the family photo window is enough for the light, and whether the reception entry time works for the room they are shooting in. Then take it to the caterer: they need the gap between ceremony end and reception open to know when the kitchen has to be ready. Both of those conversations change specific times; logging the changes in the run sheet immediately means you do not have to remember them later.

Month 4 to 3: seating plan and closing RSVPs

83% of Australian couples have allocated seating at their reception.⁵ A table plan requires a stable guest count before it is worth building. A headcount that shifts after the plan is done means rebuilding the affected tables and resending the new count to the caterer - double the work for the same result.

Set the RSVP deadline with the invitation or in the first follow-up. Four months out is usually enough runway for the count to close before the seating plan window opens at month 3. Send the RSVP deadline as a date, not as a suggestion, and follow up with anyone who has not responded by two weeks before the cutoff.

Once the count is final, build the plan and send the headcount to the caterer in writing - including the date the count closed. Caterers and venue coordinators often ask when the final number was confirmed; having it written down avoids the question.

Month 2: the full run sheet

At 2 months out, the skeleton becomes a working document. Couples married in 2025 hired an average of 13 wedding professionals.⁶ Each of those professionals needs enough of the run sheet to do their job without calling you on the day. The photographer needs to know where to be at each transition. The caterer needs service windows. The MC needs the speeches in order and the total speech time so they can keep the room on track.

Confirm every supplier arrival time in writing before the run sheet goes out. If a supplier pushes back - the caterer needs 15 extra minutes before service, the florist needs earlier venue access, the band needs a longer soundcheck - adjust the run sheet now. Changes that arrive on the morning of the wedding are manageable in a live document; they are chaos in a printed one that has already gone to thirteen people.

At 2 months you can also start the run sheet for the morning. The getting-ready block is often the most under-planned part of the day: hair and makeup artists work to a fixed schedule that they have already given you, and every person added to the getting-ready party extends the morning. The run sheet for that block belongs in the same document as the rest of the day.

The final month: distribute

The final month is for distribution. The document that goes out four weeks before the wedding is the one that runs the day. If something changes after it is out - a ceremony time shifts, a supplier cancels - update the document and send the new version to everyone who had the old one before the change becomes a conflict.

Send the run sheet to every paid supplier, the MC, the bridal party and one trusted person as a backup contact on the day.¹ Send it as a live link so any last-minute correction reaches everyone who opened it, and include a PDF for anyone who needs to print it.

In Australia, the Notice of Intended Marriage must reach the celebrant no earlier than 18 months and no later than 1 month before the wedding.⁷ If you have not confirmed with the celebrant that it is lodged, do it before the end of this month.

FAQ

What should be locked before the 6-month mark?

Venue, photographer, celebrant, musicians and hair and makeup artists. Each of these is typically booked 9 to 11 months before the wedding in Australia, according to the 2026 industry report.³ If any are missing at 6 months, that gap is the first thing to close.

When does the full run sheet go to suppliers?

At 2 months out, with every arrival time confirmed in writing. A shareable live link means you can correct a time after it is sent; a PDF that has already been printed cannot be recalled.

What happens if a supplier changes their arrival time after the run sheet is distributed?

Update the run sheet and send the new version to every supplier who had the old one. Note what changed and when in the document so there is a record if the question comes up later.

What if someone RSVPs late after the seating plan is done?

Rebuild the affected tables and send the updated headcount to the caterer straight away. Tracking the plan in a live document, rather than a spreadsheet saved locally, makes it easier to show the caterer exactly what changed.

What is the difference between a wedding timeline and a run sheet?

In Australia, the day-of schedule is called a run sheet. In the US, the same document is called a wedding timeline.¹ The format is identical: a minute-by-minute schedule from setup to send-off that every supplier works from.

Do I need to write separate documents for each supplier?

You do not. One run sheet with clearly labelled sections covers everyone. The photographer reads their transitions, the caterer reads their service windows, the MC reads the speeches. Each supplier only needs to understand their own section to do their job.

Six-month countdown summary